Autumn Came Suddenly
by Crystal Rose of Pollux
Summary: Season 6B ficlit. The Doctor once said that his family sleeps in his mind. But, sometimes, they awaken, and their absence is felt, leaving an insignificant piper standing between him and utter solitude.


_Notes: The characters aren't mine, and the story is. I can't get enough of the Season 6B concept, so here's another vignette._

* * *

Jamie had to admit that, in between their missions for the Celestial Intervention Agency, there was nothing quite like traveling wherever he and the Doctor pleased. There was the nagging annoyance of the fact that the Time Lords had dual control over the TARDIS and could summon them to Gallifrey in the blink of an eye for their next task, but, when the moments of freedom were there, it was just like the old days… well, with the exception of not having Ben, Polly, Victoria, or Zoe around.

Even though he missed them, Jamie couldn't be happier. The Doctor continued to teach him lessons as they went along—lessons from books, as well as practical lessons when the situations called for them. They still both managed to run in and out of trouble on a regular basis—and save each other's lives a half-dozen times in the process. And they even managed to make the best of their missions, determined to have a good time, in spite of the Time Lords ordering them around.

But some things were different; Jamie couldn't deny that. The frequent trips to Gallifrey to submit their mission reports were trips that the Scot simultaneously looked forward to and dreaded. Both the Doctor and Jamie were looked down upon by the Time Lords—the Doctor, for being a criminal in their eyes, and Jamie, for not only being a "primitive and insignificant" human, but being a human that had, in the Time Lords' own words, "a lower-than-average intelligence." Jamie's face burned red at the very memory of those words.

However, it wasn't all bad. It was enjoyable whenever the Doctor would show Jamie around; at times, they were able to venture beyond the Capitol. Only hours ago, the Doctor had taken Jamie to the Cadonflood River and showed him his home, the House of Lungbarrow, from afar.

"Can we nae go closer?" Jamie had asked.

"I… I'm afraid not, Jamie," the Doctor had said. "We… I wouldn't be welcome there."

"But they're your family!"

"And, as of now, I'm the black sheep. You have to understand the situation here; even the ones who want to show me hospitality cannot do so; they would be punished for giving hospitality to a criminal."

"But that isn't fair!" Jamie had protested. "None of it's fair—treating ye like a criminal, taking Zoe and me away, making ye run around working for them! If it were nae for the fact that I know ye as well as I do, I'd say that there's no good to be found in any of these Time Lords! Them and their high and mighty ways!"

"I wouldn't say that too loudly if I were you," the Doctor had warned him. "The Time Lords were merciful enough to suspend my sentence and let you travel with me again. It won't take much for them to change their minds back again…" He had glanced back at his home with a sigh, and had apparently bushed off the muddle of emotions that were beginning to resurface within him. "Yes, well… We don't seem to have any missions for the moment; perhaps we should leave and go back to our former roles as professional wanderers until we're summoned once again."

And so, they had returned to the TARDIS. She was in flight now, traveling through space rather than the Vortex. Jamie was sulking in the library, wishing he had just five minutes to show those Time Lords what a "primitive" was capable of.

He pondered for a moment, realizing that they probably thought so poorly of the Doctor because of his close associations with him and other humans. The other Time Lords were so cold and unfeeling; the Doctor was warm and kind. And he was always ready to defend Jamie against the other Time Lords whenever they insulted him for being an insignificant human of lower intelligence. They always laughed at the Doctor, insisting that he had been far too humanized from spending so much time with humans, and that severing ties would open up a universe of possibilities that would make the Doctor one of the most powerful, respected Time Lords—powerful enough that a full acquittal of his sentence would be put on the table for discussion.

Needless to say, the Doctor always refused, and continued traveling with Jamie, never once regretting his decision. And as long as the Doctor was happy with his decision, that was more than enough for the Scot.

Jamie jolted himself from his thoughts as he realized that the Doctor was probably wondering where Jamie had gone; the Gallifreyan often complained that Jamie tended to wander off. And the Scot had to chuckle softly as he realized that was one more thing that hadn't changed at all.

As Jamie reached the console room, he paused, surprised to see it empty. He glanced back down the maze of corridors and sighed. The Doctor was probably looking for him, and Jamie knew from experience that it was almost impossible to find someone in the TARDIS if you didn't know where exactly they were.

Deciding that he'd try to look anyway, Jamie headed down one of the wings, pausing at his room to see if the Doctor had been looking in there. His room was empty, as was the room across the hall. The Scot stared at the opposite door for a moment. It had been Zoe's room, before she had been sent away; some of her things were still in there, exactly as she had left them.

Jamie felt a new rush of hatred for the Time Lords. Forcing him and Zoe to return to their own times had been horrible enough. Wiping their memories had been completely unforgivable. Grateful though he was to have his precious memories back, Jamie could only hope that Zoe would, one day, get hers back, as well.

The Scot headed down the corridor, passing the doors to other rooms—rooms that had belong to the others he and the Doctor had traveled with—Victoria's room, and then Polly's, with Ben's room further down the corridor.

There were other rooms, as well; Jamie hadn't really stopped to consider the fact that there had been others before himself, Ben, and Polly who had traveled with the Doctor. Idly, he wondered about them. Who were they? Where had they come from? And what had happened to them?

It was as he passed the first room in that corridor that he realized the door was open slightly. Slowly, the Scot pushed it open the rest of the way, blinking in surprise to see the Doctor standing in the middle of the room; his back was to the door and he did not notice Jamie entering. Even if he had been facing the door, he still probably would not have noticed; he was staring at a small, leather cap in his hands with a forlorn expression in his eyes.

Jamie stopped in his tracks, suddenly feeling very intrusive. He took a step back and probably would have continued his retreat had it not been for the all-too-evident sadness in the Doctor's face. With a twist of his heart, Jamie realized how far a departure this was from the cheery, beaming Doctor he was so familiar with.

That was when it became clear to him—that, despite how carefree he seemed to be and however much he enjoyed traveling the universe, the Doctor did miss his home and his family. Though it was usually pushed to the very back of his mind, seeing the House of Lungbarrow again had probably awakened all of those old feelings and memories. And Jamie now felt guilty; the entire reason why the Doctor had gone back to see the house was to show it to him.

That established, Jamie quietly walked over to the Doctor and, without saying a word, clutched at his shoulders. It was a gesture that the Scot had made countless times before, usually in response to whatever danger they had walked into. It was laughable and childish perhaps, but Jamie had always found it reassuring—a way to ensure that the Doctor was there and would, somehow, find a way to get them out of their predicament. This time, however, it was Jamie trying to reassure him.

Slowly, the Doctor began to awaken from whatever trance the cap had put him into; he slowly turned to face the Scot, managing a wan smile as he returned the gesture, as he had always done.

Jamie looked to him with worried eyes, silently asking if the Doctor was going to be alright. The Gallifreyan clearly read the Scot's message, and managed a nod.

"You know," he sighed. "I once told Victoria about how my family normally sleeps in my mind. Every so often… they wake up."

"That's what I thought," Jamie said. He glanced at the cap. "Did that belong to—?"

"My granddaughter; she had left Gallifrey with me when I first ran away," the Doctor said. "This was her room."

Jamie wanted to ask what had happened, but wasn't sure if he had the right. Fortunately, the Doctor seemed to read that silent message, as well.

"She's alive," he assured the Scot. "Met a nice young man who, I am sure, has made her very happy."

"Ye haven't seen her since…?"

"It was always my intent to do so, but… not now. Certainly not like this; I'd much prefer her thinking that I was still wandering about in the universe somewhere, free, as opposed to a criminal forced to work in the service of the Time Lords. She wouldn't be able to stand it…"

He could almost hear Susan's voice—_Oh, Grandfather!_

"I still say it's nae fair," Jamie grumbled, bringing the Doctor back to reality. "Ye deserve to be treated better. And making ye go back after every mission like that, forced to see your old home, but only from afar…"

"Well, I've got a home here, haven't I?" the Doctor said, running a hand over the wall. "The TARDIS may not be Gallifrey, but she's got everything I need."

"Aye, everything except a family," Jamie said, before he could stop himself. He had never realized before as to just how lonely the Doctor must be. "How do ye keep from going completely mad?"

The Doctor smiled a genuine smile this time, still a little sad, but with the familiar warmth that Jamie knew so well.

"The company I keep," he said, simply.

It took Jamie a moment to fully process the Doctor's words and realize that he was talking about _him_; an uneducated piper of a primitive species was the one responsible for standing between a Time Lord and the madness of solitude.

He looked back to the Doctor in amazement.

"Aye, ye're right," the Scot said. "The TARDIS does have e'erything ye need. And ye know what? She's got e'erything I need, too."

The Doctor just smiled again, drawing Jamie into a hug, which he reciprocated. It was just them—the criminal Time Lord and the insignificant human—up against the universe, in all of its unfairness, with all the odds stacked up against them.

And they were more than satisfied with those odds.


End file.
